


From Sunrise to Sunset

by TheDarkFlygon



Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: Day Off, Fluff, Gen, Gift Fic, Headcanon, Ina11 Writing Exchange, Light-Hearted, Male-Female Friendship, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23742973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkFlygon/pseuds/TheDarkFlygon
Summary: On their day off, Touko brings a friend on a tour of Liocott Island.
Relationships: Tachimukai Yuuki & Zaizen Touko
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	From Sunrise to Sunset

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rinappe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinappe/gifts).



> This is my entry for the Ina11 Writing Exchange (that was half-run from the Inazuma writing server hehehehe)! I got Lisonari/Rinappe and instantly connected with her second prompt, which was for BROTP Touko and Tachimukai going on a little tour of Liocott! After all, I'm a simple man: if I see Tachimukai, I write for it.  
> This fic is very straightforward and on the shorter side, so I apologize for the letdown. My brain was just not having Inazuma, lately...But, even then, it was a ton of fun! I hope you still like it nonetheless.  
> Btw, this story is supposed to be set in an AU where Touko and Rika are on the Inazuma Japan team. It's also supposed to be set in the montage part of episode 89 because I'm weak for episode 89, and the idea just reminded me of an old fic I wrote back in 2014. You have my apologies for this level of self-indulgence, Lisona.

Touko doesn’t quite remember how it started, back when they were fighting Aliea, or even when or why. She supposes Tachimukai and she ended up going on a night walk at the same time someday and just perpetuated it when they realized it was much better to just gone on promenades together. It made it less lonely, that way.

Most of their discussions have ended up being about soccer, but that was less than a bother. They met through it, after all, so there’d be no point in denying that’s also how they bonded. Their conversations are indeed always pleasant, even if people would perhaps consider them repetitive. Who cares about outsider’s opinions, you’d ask? Well, she doesn’t, but her friend minds much more. No matter how much she tells him that people don’t care, that it’s fine and that all that matters is having a nice time, it doesn’t seem to work. She’ll need a better technique if she wants to get rid of his insecurities once and for all…

As soon as they both found each other on Liocott, they started talking about one day touring the entire place together. It’d obviously have to wait for a day off from training, as it was intense enough to begin with, and they just didn’t have the time nor energy in these cases. So, instead, most of their ideas about visiting the island were just that: ideas. Concepts, if you will. It probably also showed up from time to time in dreams she didn’t remember having from time to time.

Still, the opportunity finally showed up: they had a day off from training. It was a suggestion from Fuyuka and she was more than happy to take advantage of it. It may have required her to drag Tachimukai out of his room before he could do something like stupid like train all day-long for some even dumber reason like “I’m not worthy to be on the team, I need my own technique”, that sort of stuff.

(And no, she isn’t saying that because it’s what actually ended up happening, why would you think so?)

Their day starts at sunset after she has to stop her friend from running to the nearby training spot. They discovered it together during a failed attempt at already touring the island, so you can bet she knew where this guy had gone when she couldn’t find him in his room or anywhere in their inn. She’s starting to really get familiar with him, you know?

And what a beginning it is. They get greeted by the sun finishing to set on Liocott, shining over the seas. They climb onto a nearby cliff to look at it more, trying not to trip on themselves nor the ground. The views on the island are gorgeous, so the early morning effort is worth it: they sit down and watch the day begin with nothing but the wind and the waves as an ambiance, both quiet and profiting from a rare spectacle.

Silent contemplation can’t be her thing for too long, so Touko moves them ahead into the city. It’s one thing nobody has had the time to explore at all ever since arriving on the island and, blame it on her if you want, but she’s relieved she gets to do so with Tachimukai rather than Rika who’d have dragged her in all of the cloth shops of the town (she must had roped Natsumi and Aki into it instead, which fits them much more than it fits her).

They hang out in some of the little shops they’d otherwise never even have the time to distinguish from each other. They play around in colourful arrays of beach gear, which she sometimes puts on to make a joke or two, and he giggles along, either in amusement or full of second-hand embarrassment. Whether he laughs with or at her isn’t a bother: they’re friends for a reason and friends like to poke fun at each other.

Well, it doesn’t seem to be Tachimukai’s kind, but you never really know with people who speak very little about themselves. Getting behind that is one of the motivations and driving forces behind their little escapade.

They don’t buy anything because neither of them need all of this funny-looking stuff, even if the temptation is there. Her eyes get drawn to a pair of dashing swimming goggles, but she decides against buying them in the end because they won’t have much time to profit from the sea anyway. She can see Tachimukai hold and play around with a soccer ball, then check his wallet, and put it quietly back on the shelf.

To an astounding lack of surprise, when she proposes to buy it for him because she has all of the money in Japan, he turns off her offer and says it’s fine. It bothers her, so she presses on, as always, and they eventually get asked to leave because she’s too loud for the rest of the customers. If the Prime Minister’s daughter gets spotted, she’s sure to get starving journalists and paparazzi sent after her, so she better be a bit more discreet than that…

When the noon sun rises in the sky, Touko decides it’s time for a little break. Truth be told, she’s starving, and she also wants to eat somewhere that isn’t their inn. As good as the girls’ cooking is, sometimes, you just want to experience something new. Of course, she drags her friend to the place that smells the best, so she doesn’t quite know if he’s one-hundred-percent on board. He checks his wallet again and grimaces, feet heavy.

Touko rolls her eyes. It’s not like Tsunami hadn’t warned her about that happening often either, so she can’t even say she wasn’t prepared. One day, one day he’ll just get that drilled into his skull..

“I’ll pay it for you if you really can’t afford it, y’know,” she ends up telling him.

“I… I really don’t want to bother you, though…”

“Whatever! I’ve got more than enough money for the both of us. Plus, we’re friends, and friends give each other stuff!”

“But, what if I can’t pay you back?”

“And what if I really want to spend time with you, then? I don’t care about money, I care about _you_!”

Tachimukai doesn’t really reply with words, instead looking down, eyes darting aside.

“I-if you’re sure it doesn’t bother you, then…”

“That’s a deal, then! C’mon, let’s take a seat!”

Touko may have mistaken a restaurant for a café, but it’s no bother, on this island: cafés also seem to serve meals. Everything seems too good not to pick, so she’s having the hardest time of her life. Ordering food is always such a dilemma…

“H-hey, Zaizen… Is it okay if I pick that?” Tachimukai asks her with his finger in front of a middle-range price tag. She wants to roll her eyes again.

“What did I tell you? Of course you can!”

“I just wanted to make sure…!”

Honestly, when he looks at her with that reddened face and bright eyes, how is she supposed to tell him no without feeling terrible about it?

Their lunch goes by without a hunch. They discuss various things, mostly revolving around soccer and the like. His eyes sparkle whenever he mentions Endou and Tsunami, his smile brightens when he mentions how nice Kabeyama and Kurimatsu are with him, he sounds somewhat intimidated whenever Kogure gets mentioned, he looks aside and slightly blushes when he mentions Otonashi. She wonders if he’s noticed in her the same quirks she’s seeing with him.

They’re sitting at an outside table to profit from the warm, sunny weather. She’s used the opportunity to order a bubble tea and eat exotic food (or, at least, what she perceives as exotic, which is anything she’s never eaten in Japan). They’re busier chatting than eating, so it’s taking them ages to finish their plates, but that’s also the point of spending times with friends: everything outside of friendly conversations may as well just be an excuse. Come to think of it, going shopping with Rika would have been an excuse too, yet it would also have not been the same. It’s too late for regrets anyway.

In a calmer moment, Touko looks over to the sand and the waves crashing on it, an idea illuminating her head.

“Hey, what about we practice on the beach, once all of these people have gone back home?”

“Sounds good to me!”

She lifts her hand, which he taps into as soon as he notices.

“That’s a deal, then!”

The afternoon goes by in a flash. They explore the outskirts rather than the city, this time, taking in more of the landscapes of Liocott. Being away from most of civilization feels good, sometimes, marine wind blowing through their hair. The breaks they take are less to recover energy and less because she wants souvenir photos and he wants to profit from them. She convinces him to take a picture together in some of these spots, sometimes posing in front of something.

They see a waterfall, what looks like to be some citadel on a mountain flank, a forest they’d probably get lost in if they ever attempted exploring it, shimmering waters extending further than the horizon goes, colourful flowers whose scent embalms the air around them. Unlike the city, this seems so genuine, like nobody has gone here except for the paths drawn on the ground. Presumably there are other people here, but she hasn’t seen them, either because they’re somewhere else, or because she just doesn’t care: the only person she sees here is the friend who is walking by her side.

And, frankly, that’s all that should matter.

The sun sets late on Liocott but, as the sky grows into shades of orange and pink, they decide to have a little soccer training on the beach. It’s not the same thing as training on solid grounds, sure, and their coach would probably be against them doing so: whatever. Until they have to get home, then it’s free real estate. Sometimes, they just deserve to have fun and not bother with tomorrow. Her father would have probably quoted some Latin – _carpe diem_ or something similar – to that.

They do the same as always: they kind of set the goalposts with the first things they can find (this time, it’s some lines they traced in the sang), she shoots, he stops, rinse and repeat until they either get bored or get called by someone else to do something else. Well, it’s worked perfectly (kinda) until now, what’s the point in trying to fix what works? You’re just going to break it by doing that, won’t you? Her point stands: she loves her habits and she won’t change them unless forced to, and she doesn’t feel forced into shaking up the formula.

“Guys!” Endou’s voice comes to their ears. “Can we join you?!”

When Touko turns her head towards the source of the voice, she realizes most of their team is there, behind their captain, smiling. She hesitates for a moment, glances at a waving Tachimukai, then nods.

“Of course you can, guys!”

The rest of the team rushes onto the beach, prompting them to define more goalposts and actually determining what is the field and what isn’t. Training (and soccer in general) can only be more fun with more people, doesn’t it?


End file.
